Four 1,900-year-old Roman swords found in Judean Desert, likely from Bar Kochba revolt
Apparently stolen by Jewish rebels, the incredibly well-preserved weapons are 'an extremely rare find, the likes of which have never been found in Israel'
www.timesofisrael.com
A couple of months ago, a researcher from Ariel University in Israel explored a cave in the En Gedi area in Israel. The cave had been explored many times before, but he lucked out and found a javelin head buried in the wall of the cave. He alerted the Israeli Antiquities Authority who sent in a team from the Unit for the Prevention of Antiquities Theft, and they surveyed the cave again. They found the motherload: Four swords in excellent condition, one still in its scabbard!
I first heard of this shortly after the discovery from one of the team members who also served as an area head in our excavations, but had no idea when it would make the news. The unit wanted to ascertain the dating first. Turns out the swords are from the 2nd century CE, which (knowing the history of the region during that period) makes them likely candidates for being Bar Kokhba rebel swords!
For more pictures, see this Hebrew article:
חרבות שהחביאו יהודים במרד בר כוכבא התגלו במערה
בתוך מערה קטנה ונסתרת בשמורת הטבע עין גדי גילו שלושה חוקרים ארבע חרבות במצב השתמרות יוצא דופן וגם ראש כידון. החוקרים סבורים כי מדובר בשלל של מורדים יהודים שנלקח מהצבא הרומי לפני כ-1,900 שנה. אורך להב של שלוש מהחרבות הוא כ-65-60 ס"מ, הלהב של החרב הרביעית קצר יותר